Speakers¹²

For say, it is rather turbulent in the world. It feels like we are stumbling from crisis to crisis. That’s because our systems and institutions are dated and no longer doing what they were designed to do. There has never been a better time in our history to redesign and reshape our future.

Where are the opportunities that we don’t see now, let alone take advantage of? How should we connect with the emerging future and what role and responsibility is there for governments and for the business community? Not to mention for ourselves? How do we create together the world everyone longs for?

Make your event an unforgettable experience and go with Ruud on an exiting expedition to the unleashed future. Maximum impact with lots of interaction and examples of best practices.

Daphne Laan is a creative impact entrepreneur; the common thread in her story is pioneering and impact. Daphne has over 20 years of experience at the nexus of business, technology, creativity, and impact. As Head of Technology & Ecosystems at Google, she took on the experiment: In business, what happens when you follow your heart and do only the things you love? Then doors open unexpectedly….

Her mission is to create space for freedom of thinking, doing & feeling. House of Wonder is her umbrella for creative collaborations and impactful entrepreneurship. In doing so, she stretches the boundaries to create new possibilities.

She is co-founder of The Board Whisperers, who help founders, boards and executive teams with transitions and turn vision or strategy into inspiring action, by also looking what is swept under the carpet.

Daphne fuels the fire of change in CEOs, founders and leaders of the future and helps them make more impact through collaboration.

She is active in connecting people and traversing bubbles. As an ecosystem orchestrator, she brings networks together, transcending the importance of individual bubbles and always looks at the big picture.

“I create space for possibilities in thinking, from positivity and show that pigeonholes we like to think in can be stretched, so that something new emerges.”

Daphne’s lectures are characterized by a light-hearted and upbeat tone on important topics such as technology, leadership, and transition issues. She brings energy, passion, lightness, fun and hope; as she herself tackles her challenges.

Read more about Daphne Laan >>

“Take care of the place that takes care of you“, that’s really the essence. The reason biomimicry stayed on her mind when Saskia was introduced to it in 2009:

“We as humans want to take care of our children and grandchildren. But we can’t physically do that for our descendants seven generations from now. What we can do is create an environment that takes care of them.”

That realization touched her, as it did the many people she inspires with biomimicry. Audiences are sometimes moved to tears. So Saskia strives for a better, more beautiful, fairer and healthier world, and if you ask her, biomimicry plays a key role in her mission.

According to Saskia, the philosophy of biomimicry can be applied in all facets of our personal lives, but also in all areas within various organizations. It can provide new perspective and guidance for engineers and architects, economists, policy makers, educators and entrepreneurs, for example.

Saskia van den Muijsenberg therefore appeals to a broad audience with her lectures and workshops, which are interesting for anyone who wants practical tools and answers to the question: “How can I start making changes tomorrow in order to do better?”

Speaker, scientist, professor and world champion soccer-playing robots; Maarten Steinbuch simply cannot be pigeonholed. A brief summary of his career: he studied Mechanical Engineering at TU Delft, where he later obtained his PhD in Measurement and Control Technology. He worked for 12 years as a mechanical engineer (Philips) and at the age of 39 started working as a professor at TU Eindhoven.

Maarten takes his audience on a journey to the future and tells them about the speed of technological developments and their impact on our lives. When he speaks people are on the edge of their seat; young, old, scientist, director or engineer. And if not him, his faithful companion will make sure of that; a small, robotic dinosaur that even impressed the Dalai Lama in 2018.

If you ask Niek, we as a society are a collective burnout in the making. Climate change and high work pressure, these are the big issues of our time. How do we deal with them? How do we change and adapt? Last but not least; how do we become and stay happy? One word: Resilience.

If there is one person whose resilience has been put to the test, it is Niek van den Adel. His statements are anything but empty words, as he experienced firsthand that through resilience you can find a good portion of happiness, even in the deepest of valleys.

At age twenty-eight, he ended up in a wheelchair after a fatal incident. Although he could never have imagined this shortly after the accident, he works hard to see this event as a gift.

“Happiness is not in your legs but between your ears.”

Niek van den Adel is the resilience speaker of the moment. Book him for your event. Curious about Niek’s complete story? View his profile.

“We overconsume and buy products we don’t need to impress people we don’t even like.”

Minimalism is often explained as the opposite of materialism. But personally, Jelle perceives minimalism as a much broader concept. One that relates to all aspects of life. It’s not just the things you buy, but also the way you organize your life, fill in your time and spend your energy.

You may even call Jelle’s way of life essentialism. Back to the essence, nothing more and nothing less. This not only benefits our (mental) health, but also the planet, because “taking action against climate change is incredibly urgent”.

Jelle’s message moves people because his story is personal, vulnerable and positive. He tells the painful truth, without pointing the finger. He explains how we can all do better, by giving practical tips. His audience goes home full of enthusiasm and inspiration.

“Why do people do what they do?” A very important question that everyone in society and in organizations should study if you ask Mark. Because understanding our mind plays a big role in tackling major societal challenges and issues.

According to Mark, a better world starts by taking into account the different ways people function, work and change. Among other things, he draws inspiration from nature, cultural and healthcare organizations – pioneers who fulfill a social role and are people-oriented rather than commercial-oriented.

The traditional way of dealing with a problem – such as high workload – for example is to work faster, harder and more efficiently. But efficiency can actually make us ineffective if we put processes instead of people first, says Mark.

With his lectures, Mark wants to make a difference for people and organizations, by reminding them what their purpose is, showing them how their beliefs play a role and how they determine their behavior.

Marga’s drive to have maximum impact to make business more sustainable is the common thread in all her roles. Initially as a CEO, then as the leader of networks ‘De Groene Zaak’ and ‘Het Groene Brein’, now as an international writer, speaker and Board Member. She is deeply convinced that entrepreneurs can and should help solve world problems. They can, because it offers a range of business opportunities, according to Marga. Therefore, there is no reason not to do it, so she wants to help companies see how they can do it. Ultimately, her wish is for sustainable business to become the norm, rather than the exception.

Purpose is therefore her keyword and she helps companies find that purpose, make it concrete and lead the company from that insight. This means that companies actually focus on world challenges and then consider how their business can contribute to them, while maintaining or even increasing profitability and growth. In doing so, she likes to use the Sustainable Development Goals, which also form the core of her gold-winning new book ‘The Trillion Dollar Shift’.

A grandfather who was a policeman in the resistance during World War II. That is Tom Kok’s personal inspiration. Because thanks to the choices his grandfather made back then, Tom is not only inspired. He lives!

Over 23 years ago, Tom Kok said goodbye to his corporate career and his chairmanship of D66. What for? He didn’t exactly know. He did have a list of everything he wanted to be: millionaire, celebrated statesman, captain of industry, inspirer, warm dad. That list quickly dwindled, with the last two options remaining. Tom decided he had to choose and finally realized he didn’t want to be someone who hadn’t really inspired anyone in his life. And so he chose inspiration. A line he has continued ever since, in everything he does. And that’s a lot.

Tom is a speaker and can be hired for small and large groups; from 1-on-1 coaching to small-scale workshops and lectures for 1,000 people. With his stories, which are based on his own experiences and combined with theory, he gets his audience thinking about leadership, Stephen Covey’s 8th trait, energy and fundamental questions such as ‘who am I?’.

Tom is a man of many words who also knows and appreciates the power of silence. After a meeting with Tom, you will have plenty of food for thought as a listener. To which Tom warns:

“You may come to the conclusion that you need to make big decisions in your personal or professional life.”

Rumbling in the margins

Once Harm saw Princess Irene speaking in front of a group of people about sustainability. An 88-year-old man in the audience exclaimed, “I’m doing it all for my grandchildren“. Irene – then also in her 80s – replied somewhat piqued “if you don’t think life is worth doing it for yourself, then it won’t be anything!”

“That’s the way I see it. If you only do it for your children or grandchildren, you don’t really feel it. You also have to want it for yourself, for nature, for everything on earth.”

And it’s desperately needed too. Ecosystems are on the verge of collapse, deforestation, freshwater and resource shortages, plastic soup. Or in Harm’s words, “It’s drama! The Earth Overshoot Day is at the end of July, which means 5 months of living at the expense of the future, every year.” His lectures are a plea to stop messing around on the margins, and get two feet in the new economy.

“Companies need to stop lying to us, young people need to demand a better future from those currently in power, and we need to dream and act bigger and more radically.“

Frank Peters is founder and owner of VIRTUS Communications, a boutique consulting firm focused on building and protecting reputations. From his agency, Frank advises clients in business, nonprofit and government.

Frank works and speaks for leading companies and organizations in a variety of industries, including banks, insurers, and other financial service providers.  Frank is also a sought-after speaker in the agri/food sector, as well as in the world of healthcare and well-being, where Frank regularly speaks for executives and healthcare professionals at hospitals and related parties.

Furthermore, Frank is also associated as a guest lecturer at various universities and business schools, including Nyenrode, TIAS and Beeckestijn.

Frank is also a successful writer and bestselling author of several management books, including “Doing the Right Thing when No One Is Looking (2021)” and “From Profit to Value” (2022) and “Stop the Silence (2023).

Two of his former books made it to the shortlist (top 5) of ‘Nominated Management Book of the Year.

Read more about Frank >>

Nice Leng’ete is an inspiring human rights activist who has saved tens of thousands of girls in Kenya from female genital mutilation and child marriages. In collaboration with AMREF Health Africa and through her own Nice Place Foundation, she provides safe shelter, education, and hope for a better future. In addition, she changes cultures from within by engaging with community leaders and men from diverse communities. She was the first woman in history to be handed the ‘Black Talking Stick’ which demonstrated her success in this endeavor.

“I do not bear this mission alone, but together with all the beautiful girls we are educating to become leaders for change.”

Her work has gained worldwide recognition, and with her unwavering commitment and effective strategies, Nice Leng’ete continues to be a powerful voice in the fight for equality and justice for girls and women. By booking Nice as an inspiring speaker, you also contribute to her ambitious mission: a promising future for every child.

Read more about Nice Leng’ete >>